Overwhelmed? So Here Are 13 Inspirational Quotes About Happiness

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Living life to the fullest takes a lot of dedication and work. However, it can be extremely difficult to maintain a high level of inspiration, especially when the going gets tough. however, it’s really astonishing what a few very wise words can do to your overall well-being and the way you perceive the world. Here are some we have chosen for you.

1. "There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path" Gautama Buddha

Similar the mantra that the journey is the destination, the Buddha's take on happiness puts the greatest emphasis on people finding fulfillment in the experience of living, rather than arriving.

There is no ultimate end goal. For the Buddha, we make our happiness along the way.

2. "Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness" Bertrand Russell

It's out of character for someone like Bertrand Russell, a lover of mathematics, science, and logic, to dabble in something so negotiable as happiness.

But his idea that happiness can be found in the surrender to visceral feelings of love rings true — and contemporary science seems to be on his side.

3. “There are two ways of being happy: We may either diminish our wants or augment our means" Benjamin Franklin

And the rest is also interesting: "- either will do- the result in the same; and it is for each man to decide for himself, and do that which happens to be the easiest. If you are idle or sick or poor, however hard it may be to diminish your wants, it will be harder to augment your means. If you are active and prosperous or young and in good health, it may be easier for you to augment your means than to diminish your wants. But if you are wise, you will do both at the same time, young or old, rich or poor, sick or well; and if you are very wise you will do both in such a way as to augment the general happiness of society.”

4. “Happiness is the art of making a bouquet of those flowers within reach” Bob Goddard

Happiness is, in fact, somewhat related to knowing the value of what is in your hands. So put in another way, it is so easy to get to your own DIY happiness by using the materials at home:)

5. "The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large" Confucius

Confucius' sentiment about happiness has echoed through history in books such as "The Power of Positive Thinking" and recent research in cognitive behavioral therapy, which seeks to help people see the connections between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

According to a Confucian mindset, happiness is a self-fulfilling prophecy that replicates itself the more we find reasons for its existence.

6. "If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present" Lao Tzu

Translated simply as "Old Man," nobody is quite sure who Lao Tzu really was. But the figure's wisdom on living in the moment has transcended millennia.

And psychologists uphold its benefits.

Some research suggests people report the greatest happiness when they are engaged in things that require their full and present attention: good conversation, creative tasks, or sex.

7. "The man who makes everything that leads to happiness depends upon himself, and not upon other men, has adopted the very best plan for living happily" Plato

It's no surprise that Plato, Socrates' student, defines happiness like his teacher.

Plato's version of happiness is a form of personal growth. It's deriving satisfaction from achievements — running a faster mile, reading more books than last year — not for what those accomplishments can earn you.

8. "Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder" Henry David Thoreau

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the transcendentalist author and advocate for civil disobedience took a passive approach to happiness.

As he detailed in "Walden," Thoreau preferred to break convention. He avoided habit. Perhaps through the commitment to randomness, he thought, he could find some larger, more cosmic sense of happiness.

9. "Life is not a problem to be solved but a reality to be experienced" Soren Kierkegaard

The early 19th-century philosopher Kierkegaard was of the mind that happiness comes from being present in the moment and enjoying the ride. Once we stop turning our circumstances into problems and start thinking of them as experiences, we can derive satisfaction from them.

10. "I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them" John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill was a titan of liberalism; perhaps its most important figure in history. He spread the gospel of liberty wherever he could.

When it came to happiness, he adopted the wisdom of the ancient Greeks. Instead of inundating his life with goods, Mill believed in utilitarianism. He believed in using things for a purpose, and if they served no purpose, he banished them from his life.

11. "The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less" Socrates

For Socrates, one of the greatest ancient thinkers, happiness doesn't come from external rewards or accolades. It comes from the private, internal success people bestow upon themselves.

By paring down our needs, we can learn to appreciate simpler pleasures.

12. “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Gandhi

It is easy to hide what we truly feel or not act upon what we say. It may be because we fear being judged, or we may not want to commit to something entirely. However acting on your beliefs and doing the things you believe to be right is the only true way to be free and to express yourself.

13. "False happiness renders men stern and proud, and that happiness is never communicated. True happiness renders them kind and sensible, and that happiness is always shared." Charles de Montesquieu

Decisions are the crossroads of life. When we’re on the road to happiness, we often have to make choices that we’re unsure about along the way. “What if I make the wrong decision?” and “Is this the right choice?” may be some of your daily thoughts. Luckily, joy is a journey — not a destination.

Let's finish with Dostoyevski, who holds another great perspective about happiness: "Happiness does not come from earthly comforts, but is earned through suffering."